Stias collaborates with global institutes

The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) has yet again proven itself as a leading research establishment.

In September 2018 they wereinvited to be the first research institutein the Southern Hemisphere to collaborate with an elite international research institute, known as The Some Institutes for Advanced studies (SIAS) consortium.

STIAS was founded by Stellenbosch University (SU) in 1999, but it developed into an independent research establishment and is now governed by its own board of directors.

Although STIAS is now independent from SU, they signed a lease agreement with SU in 2014, which enabled the university to use their facilities.

Professor Hendrik Geyer, Director of STIAS, said in a media release on 11 September, “The invitation is a clear signal that international Institutes for Advanced Study are increasingly engaging with the African academic and research world.”

“We have established good relationships over time with individual institutes to the extent that some have already accommodated in their own programmes. Being part of the collaboration will give us the chance to explore the possibilities inherent in this programme, along with otheraspects of the STIAS offering. Thereis much to be explored,” said Geyer.

Geyer elaborated by saying that the success of his own studies can be ascribed in large part to the total STIAS experience – a space in which to work and a professional and social space to learn.

STIAS is not only linked to the university through their facilities, but also through the host of their academic programmes. In 2018 STIAS hosted a total of 10 public lectures throughout the year. The last lecture of the STIAS lecture series was presented on Tuesday 25 September in the Adam Small theatre, and was aboutthe key to fixing broken patterns ofurban development. According to the STIAS webpage, the study seeks to “understand and unpack the deep complexities of the South African university against the background of global discussions on the changing role of the university”.

The webpage emphasizes the importance of the project by stating “The University and society of South Africa is faced with an urgent societal challenge. It would therefore be important for projects to be responsive to a particular aspect of the challenge in higher education, and to propose solutions to address that challenge.”

“This is a wonderful initiative,an opportunity to clarify the effort ofdeep transformation of the university in its epistemological and ontological underpinning in order to realise a truly diverse university that is designed to nurture a critical citizenry.

We will support this any way we can,” said professor Siphamandla Zondi from the University of Pretoria on the theme of University and Society on the STIAS webpage.

Desmond Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ascribes the success of STIAS to its “supporters and benefactors, and the people who make up the STIAS family.”

Photo: Christoff Pauw

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GVB Protest Opinions

Paballo Thabethe

“I feel so strongly this. Because I personally come from a background where my mom was abused, all of this triggers a lot of emotions. I feel so strongly about this topic, and about asking Stellenbosch to stand up, because Stellenbosch was usually a university that barricaded such issues. I feel like the fact that we are out here, speaking about it, is a step in the right direction.”

Leo Figueira

“For me, it was very apparent that there were not a lot of men, and specifically white men, at this rally. That is the main thing that, as a white man, stood out for me. The lack of concern on the faces of the management was also very clear. The general anger, fear, frustration and anxiety was very apparent, and I think it came out in a way that it needed to come out. This will hopefully resonate with the rest of the community.”

Elode Duvenhage

“I feel like the management, at times, was not listening or engaging. There was no understanding. In a way I do understand that it is horrible to be screamed at by students and then having to respond, but just trying to show a little more sympathy would have been nicer. Another question is: how come they are only listening to us now? This started years ago, and these issues shouldn’t be dealt with now, on the last day of the third term. Also, and many people brought this up, this is a situation where students must choose between human rights or marks. It is not fair to place that on students who want both.”

Kaiser Aryee

“I was initially playing devil’s advocate, because I thought that this is an educational institution, and if there is no major obstruction, we should continue as normal. But as I got here and the officials addressed us, I felt that there was a sense of apathy – I don’t think they are on the ground enough with students, and that is what they get paid for. I can’t play devil’s advocate as much as I previously could. Our officials can definitely do more for us. We need more engagement with students. I am sick of emails – it is the most impersonal way to address people. I feel like, as a leader, you should be able to use your critical thinking skills, which you should have if you are in that position, to think up solutions – you can’t just go in circles when people are dissatisfied.”

Mieke Verster

“Administratively, the students are more prepared than the management. This is not right, because obviously it is our jobs at university to study, to learn and gain knowledge, and it is theirs to look after us. And I can understand the frustration of students – but of course, it is also frustrating when the crowd starts to talk in circles. I think we need to channel that energy into finding solutions – not because it is our job as students, but because, clearly it is not happening.”

Anon.

“I feel like the management should have supported us more – like, for example, by organising transport to protests. I also think that residence heads should have been here today. I feel like they are making it a you-problem. They could also have given better options for people missing assessments to go to the protests. I am from the biggest female residence, and I can tell you now that only a small fraction of us are present today.”